Standing Poses, Open Mind, Big Mind (Friday Nov 6th, Geetaji)

Tadasana — Utthita Hastasana in Tadasana, firm completely the elbow joint, the knee joint, if there is any wobbliness you cannot extend.

Paschimo Namaskar (Reverse Namaste) — long hold, lift the inner sternum, Gomukasana arms, lift the inner sternum, the top arm is the active mind, the bottom arm is the sleepy mind, bring your consciousness to the sleepy mind, the dull arm.

Utkasana — weight in heels, wake up the back body. As you come up, resist the thighs down and come up from the buttock bones to stabilize the sacrum, heels firm.

Utthita Trikonasana — back leg foot, the arch forms a crescent moon, lift the back arch. The back inner groin lifts to the outer thigh, also a moon shape, lift strongly there to make space and draw the front leg femur up into that space. Coming out of the pose, do not lose that lift of the moon, the back inner groin.

Utthita Parsvakonasana — same shape to the foot arch, now as you bend into Vira 2, that groin moon shape must remain firm to the outer thigh, and the outer arch firmly pressing down. This should maintain the lift of the pelvis off the front leg.

Virabhadrasana 1 — extend the arms as in Utthita Hastasana, the outer arm revolves toward the inner arm, the elbows firm. Turn the body and draw the back leg groin again back, and the outer arch down. As in Uktatasana, front leg inner and outer thigh parallel.

The legs are karmendryas, organ of action, they must act to get the lift of the spine. The spine is not a karmendrya, it is not an organ of action, it must be supported by the limbs. So you must study the lift of the groins to get the lift of the spine.

Uktasana

Ardha Chandrasana — standing leg outer thigh firm, and lift the inner leg up into the groin. From the lifted pole of the inner leg, lift the top leg groin, as if it were standing on top and being lifted up from the standing leg groin.

Parsva Upavistha Konasana — back leg inner thigh iron down and back leg ribs in toward midline, then extend both side waist parallel, lengthen

It is like waiting in line at the theater, you go little by little, step by step toward the box office. If you try and push, you may get trampled or pushed. So first you press the back thigh down, then you go to the side waists, and finally you get to the theater and you can still buy a ticket..

Draw your attention into these areas, if the mind flits here and there it is a little mind, like a butterfly, but when it penetrates, you get more sensitivity, as you get more sensitivity, you can
penetrate more, and the mind becomes an open mind, a big mind, that can see everywhere. This is why you get tired, because you are using the mind, and it is not accustomed to it. But you must
work like this, to penetrate. Then you will see how it comes.

Upavistha Konasana — forward, keep the back thighs down, do not collapse on the groins

Sirsasana — the lumbar spine must not hang, draw it and the front ribs in like the shaft of an umbrella, then spread and lengthen the side waists like the umbrella opening

Virabhadrasana 3 — from Tadasana, extend the sides of the waist like the umbrella, make it firm and broad, wide and long, like an open umbrella.